Describe an initiative

Application central - post #3
Describe an initiative/project you are currently working on or hope to start that relates to US/MENA relations or social, political, economic concerns in the MENA region. Be sure to address all of the following: Goals, action plan, and existing and/or needed resources 

The venture I hope launch in the upcoming year is – DnA. DnA a new media production company focusing on edutainment as a tool to promote awareness and create change around key issues in the Middle East. DnA aims to help NGOs and NPOs who are looking to raise public understanding, shift public opinion and shape public behavior towards their social agenda. The issues can range from questions regarding public health and safety, to encouraging dialogue between Middle Eastern countries, creating an informed dialogue around human rights for refugees, opening a safe and educational channel of communication about sexual abuse and rape and many more.

The way this will work is: an organization shares their agenda/idea/passion with DnA and we produces a full scale, on line, viral, edutainment project that promotes their agenda first locally and then globally (if relevant). The content will be available for free, in different languages for all relevant audiences and will target at creating long-term, long – lasting and sustainable change in society.

In order to better understand the model an example can be used:
-        The organization: Israel Aids task force.
-       The goal: raising awareness to HIV/Aids prevention and care as well as tolerance towards people who are diagnosed.
-       The project: a full on line series of 10 short videos (non – documentary) documenting the life of a young man who was just diagnosed and needs to let his family, friends and former partners know of the diagnoses. He chooses to do so via Skype calls (he is afraid to do so face to face).
-       Off line: the on line series will be backed with off line events and lectures that will compliment and complete the on line project.      

Today we live in a reality where in the global non-profit world as well as the Middle Eastern non-profit world the idea/agenda, the way and platform for implementation and the funds are not inter-connected. Meaning – there are great ideas for change (by NGO’s and NPO’s), the existence of the right pedagogy (edutainment), lots of potential useful platforms (via new media) and the funds (for example crowd funding) but nothing is connecting the dots - DnA hopes to change all that.

At the moment the venture is being developed and is in contact with a few large organizations in Israel in hope to create the first on line full scale project after having a pilot - with an on line documentary series covering multi culture in Israel.   

* I've played around with this idea for a while but at the moment it's on hold.